State of Illinois Archives: on Families & Children

Anne Stava-Murray: After #MeToo moment, withdrew support for Speaker Madigan

Bruce Rauner: Combat sexual harassment among government employees

J.B. Pritzker: Public/private partnership must invest in poor kids

Bruce Rauner: Created the Governor's Cabinet on Children and Youth

Working with the Illinois State Board of Education, local high schools, community colleges and local employers, our youth Cabinet is striving to expand vocational training and apprenticeship programs for all our high school students so each of them has a clear path to an attractive career.

Another critical initiative of the Children's Cabinet is reducing young children's exposure to lead. Democrats and Republicans stood together in signing a bill that requires all schools and day care centers to test their drinking water regularly.

Tammy Duckworth: Airports should all have 'lactation rooms' for breastfeeding

After realizing that many airports fell short in providing breastfeeding mothers with privacy and comfort, Duckworth is now leading the fight for mom-friendly airports--recently introducing a bill, the Friendly Airports for Mothers (FAM) Act, that would require all major U.S. airports to provide private "lactation rooms."

"We made progress in recent years by requiring employers to provide new mothers a private place other than a bathroom for nursing. This is a crucial step, but what about the breast-pumping mother who travels?" Duckworth wrote in a recent op-ed.

The legislation also requires that the areas are accessible for moms with disabilities. If passed, the mandate gives airports two years to comply.

Raja Krishnamoorthi: Affordable, quality child care is a smart investment

So, why should this be a concern for the government in Washington? Why not just let parents fend for themselves? The answer is that quality child care is important for the children who benefit from it. It's also critical to enabling more Americans to participate in our workforce, improving their own economic standing and our country's competitiveness as a whole.

Studies show that affordable, quality child care is a smart investment with long term positive effects on a child's education, health, drug and alcohol use, and other social behavior well into adulthood.

According to some research, it returns $8 in benefits for every $1 invested. It is universally accepted today that ensuring a child's preparedness to enter kindergarten is a critical step for their future success in school.

Pat Quinn: Birth to Five Initiative: prenatal care & early learning

• 25% more likely to drop out of school
• 40% more likely to become a teen parent
• 50% more likely to be placed in special education
• 60% more likely to never attend college
• And 70% more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.

Alexi Giannoulias: Strongly supports the Paid Parental Leave Act

Richard Durbin: Safe, affordable child care available to more families

Parents need to know that the child care they rely on is of the highest quality. Yet working families at all income levels struggle to find the high quality care their children need at a cost that is affordable.

Full-day care can cost between $4,000 and $10,000 per year. In 2000, child care for a four-year-old child in an urban area of Illinois cost an average of $5,304 per year. One out of four families with young children earns less than $25,000 per year, making such high child care payments nearly impossible for many parents.

The gap between what research has shown us is good for children and what is put into practice is still too large, especially in the context of reasonable pay and benefits for child care professionals.